A Reason For Everything
by Darkness on the Horizon Leader
Summary: Everything has a reason. Even random explosions and simple daytime walks have reasons. But is there maybe a reason everything happens? Just one reason? That's what Aqualad and the team have to figure out...before it's all too late. -On Hiatus-
1. Close Shave

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Tales of the New Team: Explosives Indoors...Not a Good Idea**

"Oy, I _hate _Mondays!" Kid Flash complained as he entered the main area of Mount Justice.

"Oh shut up," Artemis said irritably from the couch, "we _all _hate Mondays."

"Whoa what crawled up your quiver and bit _you _in the arrow last night, Arty?" Robin chuckled, trailing after Kid Flash.

"I won't comment on that, Robin." Artemis replied.

Aqualad appeared behind Robin, looking more serious than ever.

"Has anyone seen Meghan?" he asked.

"Nope. Can't say I have." Kid replied, looking up.

Superboy entered from a side door.

"Meghan? I think she's out by the coast." he said.

"Hmm. Why would she be there?" Aqualad questioned.

"I'm clueless." Robin said.

"In more ways than one." Artemis muttered.

Kid snickered.

"Oh you want to go, Artemis?" Robin demanded.

"Only if you're willing to be destroyed." Artemis replied, with equal ferocity.

Aqualad stepped between them.

"Would the both of you shut up? The League is coming and I would rather _not _be thought of as squabbling children by them." he hissed.

Robin pulled back, his brow furrowed in irritation, "Sorry Aqualad."

Artemis sat back, tightening her bowstring, "Me too."

"I'm going out to look for Meghan. Please try not to murder each other while I'm doing that." the leader said heatedly, departing from Mount Justice.

Robin and Artemis stared at each other angrily for a minute before Robin turned away, leaving the main hall to go deeper into the Mountain.

"This is going to be a looooooooong day." Kid sighed, looking at Superboy, who nodded.

* * *

Outside the cave, Aqualad was circling the mountain, making his way over to the coast.

"Meghan? Meghan!" he called.

"Oh Aqualad, over here!" he heard her shout.

Aqualad rushed over to the beach, where Meghan was standing, looking out at the sea.

"Meghan, what are you doing? The League is coming later for an update!" he said hurriedly.

"Oh, sorry, Aqualad. I was just curious about what the ocean was like." Meghan replied.

"Well come on, we'd better get back to the Cave. With any luck Robin, Artemis, _and _the Cave are all in one piece." Aqualad replied, heading back to Mount Justice_._

Tilting her head to one side, Meghan followed.

* * *

"YOU DID WHAT?" Aqualad shouted, five minutes later.

"We were testing out Robin's new explosives!" Kid Flash replied from under the remains of a hardwood desk.

"INSIDE? WHY?" Aqualad demanded.

"We were...curious about what would happen?" Robin's muffled voice said, from under a collection of couch cushions, fuzz, and cloth to their right.

The cave was a mess. Torn furniture, smashed glassware, sparks jumping from electricity cables. The cave was in ruins. And the League would be there soon!

Aqualad looked up at Artemis and Superboy, who were standing some ten feet away.

"Hey don't look at us, Aqualad. It was those two idiots who trashed the place." the archer said defensively.

"THE LEAGUE WILL BE HERE IN THIRTY MINUTES! HOW ARE WE GOING TO FIX THIS PLACE UP IN TIME?" Aqualad yelled.

"Err...I don't know." Superboy said, somewhat shocked. He had never seen Aqualad this upset before.

"Aqualad, calm down. We can hurry and get this place presentable in time." Meghan said quietly.

For some reason, Aqualad did calm down, enough to stop shouting, at least.

"Right. Superboy, could you please dig Kid and Robin out from their...piles? Artemis, Meghan, and I will start clearing away some of this rubble." he said.

"Right." five voices said in unison, two of them muffled by debris.

The six of them set to work, Superboy easily throwing the piles of rubble covering his teammates into two piles: stuff that can be salvaged and stuff that have to be thrown away.

Meghan separated the organic items from the inorganic items in the pile quickly, Aqualad taking the trash and throwing it in a dumpster, to later be rushed out back by Kid Flash.

Robin and Kid were soon dug out of their piles, and they wasted no time in starting to pull their weight.

Kid pushed the dumpster until it started rolling and he shoved it out around back. Robin, using less dangerous, safe-to-use-indoors explosives, demolished the debris that could not be saved, reducing them to ashes. Artemis, who had been patiently waiting for her chance to help, attached a large plastic bag to an arrow and shot it with lethal precision, scooping up the fallen ashes and sticking them to the rock wall.

"Ten minutes!" Aqualad warned.

Superboy, with Aqualad's help, rearranged the furniture into a somewhat normal-looking arrangement.

Robin patched up the wires and Kid appeared, with a can of brown spray paint. No one asked where he got it from. He painted over the wires, making it appear absolutely normal, and threw the can out the door.

"Five minutes!"

The team looked around. The cave, at least, was clean. Although everyone noticed it was a bit more spacious than was normal.

"Well...we don't have to clean up next week!" Robin said.

No one commented on the...joke.

A robotic voice sounded and the normal voice of the alert system said, "Recognized: Superman. 001. Recognized: Aquaman. 015. Recognized: Martian Manhunter. 005. Recognized: The Flash. 003. Recognized: Batman. 002."

Then Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and the Flash appeared, looking as serious as ever. (All except for Flash, who rarely looked serious.)

Silence followed as the League members took notice of the sudden emptiness of their old HQ, the weary and strained look of the younger heroes, and the hovering scent of wet spray paint.

"I would guess that something here exploded. Most likely Robin's new C4 explosives." Batman said finally.

Robin smiled sheepishly, only to have the smile wiped off his face by a vicious elbow from Kid.

"Right. I left the cave to go look for Meghan, then Robin and Kid Flash decided to not use their brains and tested out Robin's explosives. With disastrous results." Aqualad explained.

Flash looked over at Kid Flash.

"Explosives indoors? Even _I'm _not that harebrained!" he said.

"When we allowed you to use the cave as your headquarters, we did not allow you to throw caution to the wind and do dangerous and brainless stunts. That includes testing out new explosive weaponry indoors." Superman said quietly.

Superboy's fists clenched.

Aqualad noticed this and he walked over to his teammate, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, Superboy." he said.

Superboy calmed down slightly and unclenched his hands, but the fierce, defensive light still shone from his clear blue eyes.

Aquaman spoke up.

"Robin, Kid Flash, I believe it is clear that you two are very...dangerous together. You make a good team, though outside battle, you are just incapable of living together without blowing something up."

Aqualad could sense where this was going, and he didn't like it.

"Aquaman, with all due respect, this was merely a one-time thing. Robin and Kid are very close friends, and I doubt something of this nature will happen again." he said.

Aquaman looked him in the eye.

"Oh? Are you quiet certain, Aqualad?" he asked coolly, his eyes fierce and penetrating.

Aqualad had been pierced by that gaze before. He had backed down before. But that Aqualad was gone. He would not be intimidated by that look anymore.

He took a deep breath and looked his partner in the eye.

"Yes I am very certain. There is no reason to split up the team." he said.

"What? That was what he was getting at?" Kid asked, shocked.

"The team can't split up!" Meghan exclaimed.

Robin, Superboy, and Artemis were shocked.

"The team can't be broken up just yet!" Robin protested, "We literally just became a team!"

Instinctively, they pressed together, as if defending their rights as a unified group.

"The League is a team. You can't be separated. As long as that remains unchanged, our team remains together." Aqualad said fiercely.

"Agreed." the others said.

The older heroes looked at the younger ones, before turning and departing in silence.

Flash stopped and looked back, out of ear-shot of the others.

"Good work you guys. I think you impressed them!" he said.

Then he was gone.

The young team watched the door close before standing back and looking at each other.

"That was too close." Artemis said finally.

"No kidding." Robin nodded.

"Okay guys. No more explosives indoors." Aqualad said, clutching his forehead.

"No more explosives." Kid Flash agreed.

"Well, what about our headquarters?" Meghan piped up, looking around.

"Er...I think there's a furniture store somewhere in town." Robin supplied.

"Great. We get to go furniture shopping. How wonderful." Superboy said sarcastically.


	2. Pier One, We Have A Problem

"What about this..chair..thing?" Robin asked, poking a hardwood piece of furniture.

"Um..that's a table, Robin." Aqualad said, looking over at him.

"Oh uh...I knew that." Robin replied.

"Sure you did." Artemis hissed.

"Don't you dare. We just barely stayed a team and I would very much appreciate it if we can get through the day without another explosion." Aqualad said warningly. He clearly didn't want to be annoyed right now.

Artemis drew back, turning her gaze elsewhere.

Robin did likewise, heading deeper into the Pier One Imports store with Kid Flash.

Superboy and Meghan were standing a few feet away, clearly not wanting to get in Aqualad's way.

"Why is Aqualad getting so worked up over this? We still have the team together and no one got hurt." Superboy asked Meghan in an undertone.

"I think he's just worried. The League obviously still doesn't think we can handle being a team together..._unsupervised at all times._ This explosion might have further convinced them of that, and Aqualad is just worried about what might happen if we can't handle staying together, in the eyes of the League, at least." Meghan replied, looking over at Aqualad worriedly.

"I can't believe I'm in a freaking _furniture store!_ If those two idiots hadn't blown up the cave, we wouldn't have to _be _here!" Artemis said, walking over to them.

"Aw come on, Artemis! A good home makeover might be just what Mount Justice needs!" Meghan giggled.

"Blech but we're _superheroes. _We shouldn't be in an open and public furniture store!" Artemis answered, looking around.

"Artemis we're the only ones in here besides that sleeping clerk at the register." Superboy pointed out.

"But _still_!"

"Artemis if you're worried about being attacked-" Meghan broke off as Aqualad came over.

"We should go. We can come back another day, but I don't feel comfortable leaving the cave unguarded for so long." he said.

"Okay. I'll go find Robin and Kid." Meghan volunteered.

When she left, Artemis left the store, very clearly not wanting to hang around the place much longer.

Aqualad rubbed the back of his neck and jerked his head towards the door, "We might as well head out too. They'll be out there soon." he said.

Superboy nodded, "Okay."

The two teens exited the store and leaned against the wall, Aqualad crossing his arms as he did.

Artemis and Superboy kept their distance. From the tense way Aqualad's shoulders were set and the dark look on his face, they could tell he was still upset.

_Ting! Ting!_

The bells on the door chimed as three squabbling teenagers stepped through.

"Kid! _Why_ did you decide to play _Racquetball _with the ceramic cups?" Robin asked loudly.

"I thought they were plastic!" Kid replied, equally as loud.

"They were cold, white, and the tagsaid, in bright blue letters 'CERAMIC, DO NOT BREAK'!" Robin said.

Aqualad stepped between them, very obviously annoyed.

"Kid I don't know and don't _care_ to know what is going on, but I suggest we leave. _Now._" he said.

The team nodded their agreement and left the vicinity quietly.

When they were back at Mount Justice, Kid said, "Thank God the clerk was asleep!"

Silence met this outrageous statement, and Kid withered under the steely gazes of his friends.

"Let's add up what's happened here today." Artemis said, "You blew up the Justice Cave,_ almost _got the team disbanded, _and _you broke a store's property! Imagine how we feel about all that, Kiddo."

Aqualad took over.

"I agree with Artemis. This destructive streak has to end, Kid. The stability of the team is at stake here." he said.

Even Robin was looking worried.

"They're right, Kid. We're on really rocky ground here, just please calm down a bit." he said.

"Alright guys, that's enough excitement for one day. Let's bunk it and see if there's any action tomorrow." Meghan said, waving them goodbye and exiting the main hall.

"Yeah. And since we're bunking here tonight I suggest we all get some sleep too." Superboy said, trailing after her.

"Night all, see you in the morning." Artemis said, leaving out a different door.


	3. Captured!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**

* * *

**Aqualad was nowhere to be seen.

It was 1:30 in the afternoon, and the leader had, quite literally, _disappeared._

Everyone was having conflicting emotions about it. If Robin was worried, Meghan was _beside herself _with worry. Where Artemis was tensely stringing her bow, Kid was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. And Superboy was well—Superboy, seemingly unfazed but quietly wondering what they all were.

_Where are you, Aqualad? _

"Well...Maybe he went somewhere to think! After all, he was really upset yesterday!" Meghan suggested, nervously twisting her hair.

"Maybe you're right, Meg." Robin agreed half-heartedly.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't, that still doesn't tell us where Aqualad went." Superboy said.

"Superboy's right. We have to find him!" Artemis said.

"Okay but where do we look first?" Robin asked.

"His room, I suppose. We might find some clues." Meghan said, flying out towards their leader's room.

The others followed swiftly and silently.

* * *

Aqualad walked quietly down some road, his hands thrust deep into his jean pockets. He felt kind of bad about not leaving a note or at least _telling _the team that he was going out for a bit. But he needed some alone time to think.

_We can't be separated...not yet, not now. I hate to admit it, but I've grown so close to all of them. They're my friends, and I'd hate to blow this chance to stay with them as a team._

Without thinking, he turned and went down a dark alley, oblivious to his surroundings, too lost in thought to notice.

And because of that, he failed to notice the dark shapes heading down the alleyway towards him...

* * *

"Aqualad!" Artemis shouted from her position near the summit of Mount Justice.

"Aqualad! Where are you?" Robin supplied from his perch lower down.

"AQUALAD!" Superboy's voice thundered from the very top of the Mount Justice, causing several nearby trees to shake and his teammates fight for balance on their various perches.

They hadn't found anything in Aqualad's room. Which, according to Kid Flash, was "Way too clean for a guy who spent some of his life in the water."

"Hey! Easy, Superboy! We're trying to _find _Aqualad, not frighten him away with a thunderstorm!" Kid complained from a spot only a few feet down from Superboy, from which he had suffered the worst effects of Superboy's "supervoice".

Meghan, who was hovering some four feet away, covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Oh so you think that's funny, Meghan? Why don't you come over here and I'll show you how funny it is to be half deaf!" Kid threatened.

This thinly veiled threat earned him a vicious backhand from Superboy, who had descended to his level.

"Not right now, Kid! We have to find Aqualad!" he growled.

Meghan rolled her eyes and grabbed both of them, flying them down to the ground. Artemis and Robin joined them soon after, jumping down from the staggering heights of their places on the mountain.

"Right, so where do we look now?" Artemis asked.

"Not sure. Maybe we could track him down on the supercomputer." Robin suggested, heading back into the cave.

"I doubt that's possible, Rob, but I'm willing to try anything that could lead us to Aqualad." Artemis replied.

* * *

Aqualad stopped in his tracks as a quiet rustling noise reached his ears.

He swiftly turned around and saw nothing. Wait...was that someone...or just a shadow?

_Great. You're so stressed out you're seeing things. Get a grip, Aqualad._

He finally noticed he was in an alley and began walking back the way he had come, seeing that there was a dead end back there.

He was suddenly gagged and forced to his knees. He winced as he felt harsh rope being wound around his wrists. He looked up furiously, ready to burn the ropes off with lightning as he saw a dark figure approaching before he was blindfolded.

"Heh heh heh...Well, well, well what have we here? Aqualad? Strange to see you away from Aquaman." a voice said.

Then something hard struck the back of Aqualad's head and he collapsed, the world growing dark as a rag was bound his eyes, his assailant's laughter ringing in his ears...

"Heh heh heh...Good night, Aqualad."

* * *

**Creepy! I'm currently loving where this story is going!**


	4. Markings in the Sand

**I just could not stop writing this story! If you like where it's headed tell me!**

**Disclaimer for the entire story: I own NOTHING.**

* * *

The team was worried sick.

"Three hours? _Three?_ Aqualad would have at least called us or something!" Meghan exclaimed, her voice rising with worry.

"I know. Maybe we should...send out a search party?" Superboy asked.

"With who? We don't even know where to start looking!" Kid Flash said, pointing at Robin, who was furiously kicking the wall in frustration. He had failed to hack the supercomputer's tracking program.

"_Batman _designed that system, I forgot! _Batman's_ programs are the only ones on earth that I _can't _break in to!" Robin growled.

"Should we send out an SOS?" Kid asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Kid. We're already on rocky ground with the League, after all." Artemis sighed, leaning against the wall.

"Well, we have to find him. We just _have _to!" Meghan said.

"Yeah we do. Come on guys, we have to go out and find Aqualad." Superboy said firmly, banging the side of his fist on the rocky wall.

"Yeah. Come on, let's go." Meghan said, already halfway to the front entrance.

* * *

Aqualad felt himself being thrown into a car. Not the trunk, the surface he was laying on was much too comfortable to be a trunk. _What's going on? Where am I?_

He bucked and writhed against the ropes binding him. He would burn them off with a little lightning, but his senses were too fuzzy to risk it. One mistake and he might end up torching himself.

He felt someone lay their hands on him, and he froze in horror at the feel. Cold, clammy, almost dead-feeling.

"There. Stay still back there, Aqualad." someone snickered mockingly.

"Ha you were right. Your touch can freeze anyone in their tracks." someone else laughed.

_Two adversaries. Both in their thirties. Even if I did escape I wouldn't stand a chance. _Aqualad thought.

So, even though every instinct screamed at him to get up and get out of the car, Aqualad stayed still.

Then he heard the tires roll over the road, and Aqualad was put into motion.

* * *

"Aqualad! Aqualad!" Robin called as he went down an alley.

He picked the alley because alleys seemed like such perfectly cliched places to find a lost comrade.

"Hmm...odd..." he murmured quietly as he saw the subtle traces of disturbed dirt on the ground. A scuffle had occurred there recently.

Doubtful it had anything to do with his lost leader, but still Robin decided to investigate it.

He saw some footprints leading to the end of the alley, then turn around and cross over the same path. Slow, dragging steps, like someone deep in thought.

_Or worry._

Where the footsteps ended, was where the disturbed dirt began. Kicked dirt, rubbed dirt, misplaced dirt, even a neat patch where someone must have gotten down on one knee. And from the subtle ways the dirt behind the patch was moved, that someone had bent down to look at someone else.

Then something caught Robin's eye. He looked to where something was shining and moved gently towards it, careful not to destroy the markings in the dirt, which on closer inspection was actually sand.

Robin reached under the dumpster, screwing up his face at the stench, and closed his fingers around a small piece of metal. He pulled it out and was surprised and dismayed at what it turned out to be.

A tiny chip off of Aqualad's belt!

He yanked his communicator off his own belt and sent out an emergency call.

"All Young Justice! Report! Report! Aqualad's been captured!" he shouted into the speaker.

This was bad. A search for a leader had turned into a kidnapping.

Robin looked at the sand again, vowing to catch whoever had captured his friend.

He heard the rustlings of various outfits and looked up into the worried faces of Meghan, Artemis, Superboy, and Kid Flash. He looked back in silence, holding up the chip of the belt while simultaneously pointing out the markings in the sand.

"This...this is not good." Kid Flash said worriedly.

"Not good at all..." the others agreed.

* * *

**Ooh, a mystery! Aqualad's been captured!**

**Who captured him? What do they want? How will he escape? Will YJ ever find him?**

**Give me ideas for where to take this story from here! I was thinking a forced-alliance with the bad guys but I'm not sure. If you have any ideas, do tell!**

**Peace!**

**~Azariosiza  
**


	5. Chess, It's All In the Wits

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Except for the character of Z0D and all things relating to him. **

* * *

Aqualad had fallen asleep after three hours of fruitlessly fighting the ropes that bound. Eventually, he had just given in to his exhaustion.

He slept heavily, his mind plagued by dreams and by worry. _How was the team doing? Were they looking for him right now?_

These thoughts and more swirled in the unconscious mind of the sleeping teenager, and the only thing that tore him from them was the sickeningly loud slam of a car door. A click coming from the door in front of his head caused him to jerk upwards, fully awake, and move backwards. But at that moment the door _behind _him opened, and he fell out of the car onto a hard, gravelly road below.

Aqualad felt stabbing pain in his head and on the backs of his hands, and felt the uncomfortable sensation of trickling blood telling him he had open wounds.

"Ha. Super-teens like you are so predictable, Aqualad." someone sniggered scornfully.

Aqualad couldn't speak from behind his filthy gag, but he listened for the source of the noise and isolated it. He spun himself around in a liquid movement and lashed out with his free legs, hitting flesh with a dull thump. He yanked himself up and shook his head hard, causing the blindfold to limp and sag off his face, to hang loosely from his neck.

What he saw in front of him nearly caused him to collapse from shock and disgust.

* * *

The team had regrouped in Mount Justice.

"Artemis! Superboy! What do we do?" Kid Flash asked the two. For some reason, Kid had begun to look to Artemis and Superboy as the team leaders, in the absence of Aqualad.

"I'm not sure, Kid. We can't go look for him, we have no idea where he could be. And we can't tell the League, they'd just split up the team." Artemis said, banging her head on a table.

"The only clues we have are a chip off Aqualad's belt and some scuffed up sand. We have basically _nothing _to go on!" Robin growled.

"We have a missing leader and nothing to go on for finding him. If the League visits, we're screwed." Superboy said.

"Okay well. While we investigate, no one tells the League _anything, _got it?" Meghan asked.

"No one tells the League anything about _what_, Miss Martian?" the dangerously calm voice of Batman asked.

* * *

Aqualad backed away from his captor, staring in a kind of fascinated horror at the man in front of him.

His face was very dark in color, but only on one half. In a strange way he looked like a Dalmatian. On the other half of his face, the skin was somewhat eaten away by some form of poison or acid, leaving only deadened, gray skin sagging over his muscle structure. And a few pinpoints of red and pink showed where the skin had been melted completely, revealing the muscle underneath. But what really drew the horrified gaze of Aqualad were the eyes. Lifeless...white...gruesomely pale...The pupils had disappeared, leaving only two pits of ivory white staring into the lighter blue eyes of the teenage hero. The dead-looking...someone came forward and pulled the gag away from Aqualad's lips.

In a hoarse voice, Aqualad whispered, "Who are you?"

The dead-looking man smiled, a smile made sinister from the half-dead part of his face, and replied, "I have no real name. They simply call me Z0D. Or, some call me "Zawd". I don't care. Not anymore. I gave that up with my life."

It was that last part that caught Aqualad off-guard. _Gave up with his life?_

Then it hit him. How ominously, sickeningly clear.

"You...You're not alive, are you?" Aqualad asked.

"Ah! He can be taught!" Z0D said. Then he added, "Yes Aqualad. I'm not alive. Nor am I dead. I'm somewhere in between."

_But this man isn't a zombie like the ones in Kid's horror movies. This is far, far worse._

Another man appeared. This one completely alive. The sight of him almost made Aqualad relax. Until he saw the hand-gun he held in his hand.

"Now follow me." Z0D said. The other man held the gun to Aqualad's back, directly behind his heart, and led him up a pathway to a large, foreboding building up ahead...

* * *

The young heroes all stiffened at once and turned around, slowly.

They flinched at the narrowed eyes of Batman, who was standing only five feet away from the congregated team.

"Uh..well..y'see..." Kid broke off, shaking.

Superboy clenched his fists and closed his eyes, his voice coming out cold and hard.

"Aqualad was kidnapped. We don't know when. We don't know who. We don't know how. We don't know anything. We were trying to think about who might have done it and why." he said in a harsh tone.

"And were you planning on informing the League of this little incident?" Batman asked, striding closer.

"We were planning not to. We figured it wouldn't be worth the League's oh-so precious time." Artemis growled.

"I see. And you had no idea about what to say to Aquaman should he have visited?" Batman asked.

"We were hoping to have him found before that happened." Meghan said.

Batman ignored her and strode across the room to the supercomputer. He punched in a few numbers and letters and a map of the entire Happy Harbor area appeared, with a lone red dot blinking on a road labeled 'Lester Road'. It was one of those hard-to-find, out-of-the-way roads. With only one entrance and no exits.

Then he opened up the League's messaging channel and spoke clearly into a microphone:

"Aqualad has gone missing. I have tracked his locator to Lester Road. Rendezvous at Mount Justice for debriefing. Calling Superman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, the Flash, and Green Arrow." he said.

The last sentence caused the team's hopes to plummet. All their "partners" in one place meant bad news.

* * *

Aqualad was finally freed of his bindings after he heard a variety of doors slam and various twists and turns over a carpeted ground.

His every instinct screamed at him to lash out, to attack, to flee. But he wouldn't be able to do anything of the sort without that gun behind him going off.

Instead, he busied himself with talking.

"Where are we? Why have you captured me? What do you want?" he asked.

"You are on Lester Road. That's all you need to know right now. We've captured you for a very—eh—noble reason. The death of the Justice League." Z0D said.

"What?"

"Yes of course. The fall of the pesky Justice League. Everything has a reason, you should know that. But in your story, we are the reason for it all. Why would Robin and Kid Flash blow up your precious Mount Justice? Even they aren't that thick. We caused it. Well, indirectly. Why would the League ever break up your precious 'Young Justice', even if you did screw up? We hold great power in the underworld. We have ways, Aqualad. And you are a large piece of this puzzle. The League will scatter to find you. Isolate your locator here. And fall into a perfect trap." Z0D smiled.

"_After all, this is all just like a game of chess. And I am ten moves ahead. I have the League's precious knight. And the Kings and pawns will all fight to get him back."_

The "pawns" were standing nervously before the "Kings" back at Mount Justice. The other, older heroes had arrived, and were currently being filled in by Batman.

"We. Are. Screwed." Superboy repeated.

Batman, backed by the others, walked over.

"We have decided this is the final mistake. You are incapable of working together and keeping together as a team, therefore we are breaking your group up. You will all return to your partners and receive information to get Aqualad back. Consider this team, broken up." he said.

* * *

**Wow. Bet the team was not expecting that.**

**Anyways. What did Z0D mean when he said **

**What will the now-broken up team of Young Justice do now without each other?**

**Will Aqualad ever be freed of his Trapped-Knight status?**

**Or will Z0D succeed in his "chess" game?**

**_More_ to come**


	6. A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

**Nope, I didn't forget this story :) I just stopped working on it to turn towards my KH fanfictions xD Anyways, I re-read my old chapters, and I think I got better since I last worked on this fic :3 **

**By the way, I don't know ANYTHING about military tactics, so towards the end it'll seem a bit...I dunno, illogical. SORRY.**

**-Az.**

* * *

Immediately, there were heated outbursts of protests from the younger Justice.

"No way!" Robin shouted defiantly at Batman, "Not now! Not when we need to stay together more than ever!"

"There is no argument. You obviously cannot be trusted to work together as a functional team. We have decided." Batman replied.

"You're nuts, I'm not leaving this cave without my team a team!" Kid Flash said stubbornly to Flash.

"Your team can't be trusted," Flash said, "you blew up the cave, for crying out loud!"

"Uncle, you can't! We have to stay together!" Meghan was trying desperately to plead with her uncle.

"We can, and we are. I'm sorry, Meg'han." Martian Manhunter replied.

"Nope. Not happening." Artemis said bluntly. Green Arrow looked ready to lose it. And _he _was usually so calm!

"It _is_ happening, whether you like it or not, _Artemis._" he said.

"You're not making me leave." Superboy told Superman. His fists were clenched and his eyes were rock-hard.

"No arguments." Superman said. His voice was almost lost as the arguing rose to a fever pitch. Voices rose, tempers heated up, and the rift between the sidekicks and their wards deepened and grew.

"Enough." the voice was calm. All fell silent and turned to look at Aquaman. The Atlantean king had stayed calm and levelheaded throughout all of the argumentative back-and-forth. But now, a queer light shone from behind his eyes. _Determination._

"This fighting is getting us nowhere nearer to Kaldur, and Kaldur no nearer to us." he said, "We can discuss this later. After Kaldur'ahm is found."

Everyone took a step away from each other and looked in other directions.

"He is right," Manhunter said, "we are getting nowhere. We have the coordinates, and we should already be on Lester Rd."

"Right. Everyone, move out, we'll discuss this later." Superman said finally. No one argued...immediately—right now, Aqualad was their number-one priority.

* * *

Said number-one priority was currently being bound to a chair, the gun never having left him. Now, the firearm was pointed at the teen's head, threatening to kill him. Aqualad coughed at the dustiness of the room; it was an ancient computer room, full of monitors and bright screens that contrasted harshly with the dim lights, hurting his eyes.

"The League will never yield to you." he told Z0D, who was watching a collection of security monitors, "They are smarter than that. They will realize this is a trap."

"I think not. I already told you: you are their Knight. Aquaman's more so. Just think, the Atlantean king will never rest until his beloved _son_ is safely at his side again. Him _alone_ would make a wonderful trophy." the half-dead, half-alive man said.

Aqualad didn't like the mocking tone that had come with the word son. He didn't like it one bit.

"Aquaman will not let himself be killed! He will not let you kill me, either!" his voice was rising. He felt the gun retract from its placement at his temple, its wielder breaking down in laughter.

"Ha!" Z0D scoffed, "You honestly believe his _lies?_" He had risen from his seat and made his way over to Aqualad, ignoring the lackey now rolling around on the ground in uncontrolled laughter.

Aqualad glared daggers into the face of his captor, which only made the "zombie" give a low chuckle.

"Aquaman has never lied to me." he stated.

"Oh yes he has. Do you really believe he thinks of you as a son?" the grotesque face twisted into a horrid smile, which made Aqualad almost gag with disgust.

"Of course!" he said.

"_Lies, boy." _Z0D hissed. "He doesn't care about you. You're only a pet of his. A mere stray he picked up to relieve his own ennui."

"You are the one spewing lies!" Aqualad was almost shouting now. He was lying. Aquaman _did _care. He _did _regard him as more than a "pet." He, Aqualad, _was _more to Aquaman than Z0D said...

_Right?_

He faltered. He stumbled. His words lost their edge. Z0D smiled in triumph.

"See? Now you are getting it. _He doesn't care. _Nor has he ever." he said, the condescending tone of an arrogant person who had just won a contest apparent in his words.

Aqualad watched his captor return to whatever it was he did. The man on the floor had grown bored and, leaving the gun haphazardly on the ground, left. The teen hero guessed he wasn't a truly spectacular henchman. But his mind was filled with other thoughts.

_He...he _does_ care...doesn't he?_

Z0D smiled to himself, sensing the uneasiness he had caused in the young hero. He had planted the seed of doubt into Aqualad's mind.

And, from that seed, would grow the vile, twisting plants of hatred and insecurity.

* * *

There had been a little controversy over how the Justice League and the Young Justice were going to approach Lester Road.

"I'm telling you, that place is bound to be full of traps and sensors. We'd be idiots to go in, even one at a time." Robin tried to explain again. He was getting frustrated; clearly the unknown area would be full of guards and security measures, and Batman wasn't listening!

"I didn't say go in one at a time. I said locate other points of entry and use those." Batman growled.

"We'd still be open to sensors and cameras." Robin pointed out.

"We will disable the perimeter security before we enter." Batman replied.

"Yeah, fifty cameras going blank at the same time? Nothing suspicious about that." Robin scoffed.

"I have just about had it with you..."

"And I've had it with _you _breaking us up right when Aqualad needs us the most!" Robin retorted. He paused, then said forcefully, "You know what? Forget this. C'mon guys, we'll go get Aqualad back ourselves."

The former Young Justice instantly agreed, splitting from their mentors who could only stare in astonishment at the obvious lack of respect the younger heroes had. Clearly, their concern for each other and for finding Aqualad was stronger than any intimidation or respect they had for the older League.

Kid Flash shrugged and crossed his arms.

"You got a problem? You gotta catch us first."

Then without warning, the five teens split up and ran down to the basement, the older Justice League right on their tails.

"Enough!" Superman shouted, "All of you get back here _now_!"

"Kid, I swear if you take off, I'm dragging you home and locking you in your room 'til the end of your life." Flash warned, completely annoyed.

"Meg'Han, come back. This is completely irrational." Manhunter said firmly.

"Robin, get back here young man. I am not playing around." Batman commanded. Robin paused and turned to look at his fellow rebelling teens.

"What do you think, guys? Shall we drop this and listen to our 'elders'?" he asked them.

"Hmm...Nope. See you guys at Lester!" Kid smirked as he put on his goggles and ran out.

"See you soon." Superboy actually smiled. Meghan, who was seated on his vehicle with him, waved goodbye at the League and they too, disappeared up the road.

"Well, I'm not staying." Robin said.

"Neither am I." Artemis agreed. Robin's motorcycle revved up and Artemis sat on the seat. She made a fleeting peace sign at the League before they drove off, leaving six very surprised, very annoyed, and very furious men staring after them.

"I'll KILL HIM." Flash vowed, dashing after Kid.

"...This is completely new, Meg'Han is normally very obedient." Manhunter said thoughtfully as he hovered and flew off after Robin and his niece.

Batman and Superman flew off together, the Batmobile being too far away to call. Neither looked happy—in fact, they looked ready to murder a certain group of teenagers.

"I wonder what's gotten into Artemis?" Green Arrow mused before taking off after them.

That just left Aquaman. He gave a sigh and started off after the Arrow, a troubled look haunting his eyes.

"If we get Kaldur back safe, I'll forgive them all." he sighed.

* * *

**Yep. Teenage rebellion. **

**To. **

**The. **

**Extreme. **

**I was trying to convey the message of "Friends over Fear" in this chapter, if you think I was just trying to fill up a gap in time. **

**I promise I'll be more frequent with this Dx now that Young Justice is playing more often, I can find more inspiration to write about it :3**


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